Female police officers face an ongoing struggle for acceptance and respect in the male-dominated profession of policing. In many jurisdictions, there is only one female officer. To win acceptance and respect, women are continually required to demonstrate that they can handle a "man's job." In this environment, a female officer who is being abused feels a great deal of pressure to hide what is happening.
The far-reaching effects of abuse often wreak havoc with her professional performance. For example, she may take excessive leave time or frequently be late for work. She may be forced to make excuses for damage to her uniform or equipment, for her physical injuries. She is likely to have little hope that she can escape the situation on her own, yet she knows that telling anyone at work about the abuse means repercussions on the job.
People may doubt that a civilian abuser can dominate, coerce, or batter a police officer. He may use her professional status to convince advocates, responding officers, or a prosecutor that she is really the abuser. He might physically threaten her, and then accuse her of aggression when she responds with professional self-defense.
He knows that accusations of use of force can threaten her job. He knows that he can potentially destroy her career if he can get an order of protection.
There are additional complications when both the victim and batterer are in law enforcement. Reporting the abuse exposes her private life to intense scrutiny. Both their careers can be damaged if she proceeds with a complaint.
The abuser is likely to apply relentless pressure and threats [personal account] to make her recant and withdraw her complaint. Lethality risks multiply. Both have been trained to use weapons and tactics that can be used to attack another and defend oneself.
The victim faces another layer of barriers to seeking help if she is in a same-sex relationship. Most communities have few or no resources for lesbian victims of battering. Where they exist, the abuser may contact the advocacy organization and convince staff that she is the victim.
Responding officers and others may label the situation "mutual combat," assuming both parties have equal power in the relationship as females and as officers.
If the victim is not already open with her co-workers and others, she may fear that the abuser will disclose their relationship.
Being outed may impact a divorce or custody action. Supervisors, colleagues, family and friends may reject her, or feel betrayed or let down because she was not open with them about her sexual orientation.
We must be sensitive to the many reasons it's difficult for a female officer to seek help from family, friends, and/or service providers. If a victim wants counseling or shelter, she will probably seek help in another community where she can maintain anonymity.
There are many barriers to using services in her home community:
We must also understand the potential negative consequences the victim may face if she reports the abuse to her superior officers:
Officer-involved domestic violence policies vary in their consideration of officers who are victims. Some policies have unintended negative consequences.
Policies that mandate the victim to report the abuse, mandate her colleagues to report knowledge of her situation, and/or mandate the petitioner of a protective order to report the action may prevent an officer-victim from seeking help.
The department is likely to order a fitness-for-duty evaluation or order her to attend counseling, either of which become part of her permanent file. Supervisors may place her on administrative or medical leave.
She may be ordered to cooperate with an internal investigation that is likely to be more focused on shielding the department from liability than supporting her and holding the abuser accountable.
If she tells the investigator everything, she risks disciplinary action for both herself and the abuser. If she withholds information that investigators discover later, she may face discipline or termination.
If she goes to the department for help, she may be shunned by colleagues for breaking the "code of silence" by informing on another officer. Her report may be treated as "she said, he said," her word against his. As a female officer she is already the other in the organization and is unlikely to have the same credibility as a male officer.
Prosecutors may be reluctant to pursue charges if her case becomes a criminal matter. Prosecutors may not believe that an armed officer can be a victim in her own home.
Her department may also pressure her not to pursue criminal charges, particularly if the abuser is also an officer.
If there was a 911 call and arrest, responding officers are drawn into testifying in a case that affects their own department, colleagues and friends. She may be reluctant to participate in any prosecution, particularly if she has to disclose intimate details of her life in front of her colleagues.
Our book Crossing the Threshold: Female Officers and Police-Perpetrated Domestic Violence may help you gain a better understanding and perspective on how institutional power filters down into intimate relationships. It's relevant for any victim who encounters abusers of power — attorneys, judges, military and public officials.
The article Female Officers as Victims of Police-Perpetrated Domestic Violence is available through BWJP at no charge. It explores how the female officer's profession and workplace culture influence her behavior and decisions.
And please, don't hesitate to call or write us. We're here to help — whether you have just one question or are interested in training for your agency.
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When the Batterer Is a Law Enforcement Officer
